So I’ve only just become a Queen fan a couple months ago, and initially what attracted me to them is my friend showing me the biopic they’re making for Freddie and I thought “wow a rock band that doesn’t hate each other that’s new”(It was mostly in a joking way I know not all rock bands hate each other) and I guess I started to love “the friendship aspect” of Queen. Cause firstly I started reading things Brian and Roger have said about Queen post Freddie and I read about how close they got after they found out Freddie had aids, and I listened to No One But You before fully listening to all their albums and I was under the impression that they were all close friends or at least like brothers.

But then I started watching interviews from back then where Freddie was saying “I hate them” “I can’t stand to see their faces” and reading things on here about how they were just co workers and not even friends and.. now I’m just confused lol I’m guessing they didn’t actually hate each other and that Freddie didn’t actually hate them, but from how Brian and Roger talk about the band now and how they were so tight knit and close and how Freddie was their friend and losing him was like losing a brother, it doesn’t seem like they were “just co workers”? But then I read other people’s opinions and what people close to them have said and they tell a different story than Brian and Roger do...

I personally think they were brothers even if they weren’t the best of friends, and I know about the time period where they didn’t get along and fought a lot that’s not why I’m confused lol I’m also a Beatles fan so I know how band dynamics can be, but I’ve never heard someone say The Beatles were at best co workers and not really friends.. And I always hear that Freddie and Brian didn’t get along but to me it seems like it was more of a brotherly love/hate thing especially since Brian clearly misses him now and I just don’t think you’d write a song like No One But You about someone if you didn’t care about them?

So basically my question is were Queen friends? Was it more like a brotherly love/hate relationship with them or were they really just co workers who tolerated each other?

(Note: I do know that John doesn’t talk with Roger and Brian nowadays, and John seemed closest to Freddie so it makes sense)

Radiooooqueen4 wrote:So I’ve only just become a Queen fan a couple months ago, and initially what attracted me to them is my friend showing me the biopic they’re making for Freddie and I thought “wow a rock band that doesn’t hate each other that’s new”(It was mostly in a joking way I know not all rock bands hate each other) and I guess I started to love “the friendship aspect” of Queen. Cause firstly I started reading things Brian and Roger have said about Queen post Freddie and I read about how close they got after they found out Freddie had aids, and I listened to No One But You before fully listening to all their albums and I was under the impression that they were all close friends or at least like brothers.

But then I started watching interviews from back then where Freddie was saying “I hate them” “I can’t stand to see their faces” and reading things on here about how they were just co workers and not even friends and.. now I’m just confused lol I’m guessing they didn’t actually hate each other and that Freddie didn’t actually hate them, but from how Brian and Roger talk about the band now and how they were so tight knit and close and how Freddie was their friend and losing him was like losing a brother, it doesn’t seem like they were “just co workers”? But then I read other people’s opinions and what people close to them have said and they tell a different story than Brian and Roger do...

I personally think they were brothers even if they weren’t the best of friends, and I know about the time period where they didn’t get along and fought a lot that’s not why I’m confused lol I’m also a Beatles fan so I know how band dynamics can be, but I’ve never heard someone say The Beatles were at best co workers and not really friends.. And I always hear that Freddie and Brian didn’t get along but to me it seems like it was more of a brotherly love/hate thing especially since Brian clearly misses him now and I just don’t think you’d write a song like No One But You about someone if you didn’t care about them?

So basically my question is were Queen friends? Was it more like a brotherly love/hate relationship with them or were they really just co workers who tolerated each other?

(Note: I do know that John doesn’t talk with Roger and Brian nowadays, and John seemed closest to Freddie so it makes sense)

Sorry if this question is like all over the place or at all confusing

Hello and welcome to Queenonline.

Firstly, nice to see another new fan joining the Queen family; I hope you have many pleasurable hours discovering all things Queen (there's plenty to hear and watch).

Secondly - and to answer your question - yes, the Queen members were a close bunch. Of course, they had their ups and downs like any band of brothers (and at times - especially in the early 80s - they were quite close to splitting up); but they would stick together against the world if they had to. When Freddie got very poorly the rest of the band supported him all the way and lied through their teeth to anyone who asked if he was ill (to protect him). I am obviously over-simplifying things here, but, in a nutshell, yes, they were friends.

Lastly, as for Freddie making particular comments about them like 'I hate them', etc. you will find as you discover more about him that he was somene who had a very dry sense of humour and would often say things in jest. Freddie could come across as very dismissive about things (for example, saying his songs were disposable like Bic Razors..when in reality he cared deeply about his compositions), but that was just his way; and he had to learn to be quite tough-skinned, etc. over the years, as the UK music press would often tear him and Queen to pieces. But Freddie was a sensitive, caring, generous man. He was never going to be a saint, but he was a decent soul. And he often had his tongue in cheek!

Anyway, hope that helps a little. Anymore questions then just ask away: we have some very dedicated and knowledgeable fans (especially Seb and Kes) here who know probably even more than I do (and I eat, sleep and drink this band!) and will be able to answer literally anything (within reason!). All the best.

Thanks!! Yeah that’s what I assumed all along that sure they had their fights and stuff but it was like a family, and I think that’s how Brian and Roger described it too so when I read stuff that contradicts that’s what kinda confuses me a little? But thanks for clarifying!! I have noticed Freddie has a dry sense of humor so that was probably it, it was also an interview from back in 1984 and I think that’s when they weren’t always getting along so maybe that played a part? Thanks for answering!!!

Radiooooqueen4 wrote:Thanks!! Yeah that’s what I assumed all along that sure they had their fights and stuff but it was like a family, and I think that’s how Brian and Roger described it too so when I read stuff that contradicts that’s what kinda confuses me a little? But thanks for clarifying!! I have noticed Freddie has a dry sense of humor so that was probably it, it was also an interview from back in 1984 and I think that’s when they weren’t always getting along so maybe that played a part? Thanks for answering!!!

You are more than welcome. And if you have any other questions then don't hesitate to ask.

Yes, I would say that the early 80s were probably the worst time for Queen as a band: they had made Hot Space, which many fans did not like (and let's not even start on the critics); they had been spending a great deal of time in Germany going a little AWOL(and Brian has stated in recent years how those times there were not the best - they were all drinking a lot and not looking after themselves as well as they should); they were banned on MTV in America because of the Break Free video (yep, really) and their decline there was probably at its peak; they stupidly played South Africa in '84 and were rounded on by the press and protest groups; and I think that they had lost their way as a band during this time...

...and then along came Live Aid and things certainly picked up again...the rest is history as they say.

Tim Staffell was friends with Freddie first (at Art College), and Tim had already known Brian for years (and been in 1984 together). Surely Roger met Brian first (answering the ad) and then through him Tim, and later Tim introduced them both to Freddie.

Freddie and Roger definitely became very firm friends soon after though. They were almost certainly the closest in the group.

There's a bit of a myth around lately (esp on youtube comments and the like) that John and Freddie were very close, just because Freddie was often quite involved with John writing wise. But John himself said that he would never think of visiting Freddie at home or vice versa.

Overall I think the evidence is there that they all ultimately got on well and never seriously fell out (until maybe the mid-late 90s).